Cooking under pressure

Tuesday

Sep 1, 2009 at 6:30 AMSep 1, 2009 at 6:32 AM

SARAH BOYER Staff Writer

Family caregivers — who typically serve as home cooks for seniors — are feeling the heat in the kitchen, according to a recent study. The stress is especially high for adult children who are caring for someone with nutritional risk factors. One local family with some experience in this situation is Goldie Deich, 81, of Victorville and her son, Jack Thomas.

"TV dinners are the simplest thing there is," said Deich from her mobile home where she lives alone with her dog, Gertrude, an Australian shepherd mix. Deich said she once worked for Banquet Frozen Foods and always considered their meals good. Concerned about the nutrition his mother was getting and other safety factors, Thomas, her only family member in the area, turned to Home Instead Senior Care in Victorville to help during the hours he had to be at work.

Compared to many older adults, Deich, who has started to suffer some memory loss and no longer cooks for herself, has been lucky. Research recently conducted by The Boomer Project (www.boomerproject.com) revealed that providing care for an older person with nutritional risk factors is tied to increased stress levels in family caregivers. Adult children reported the top three nutritional risks as: three or more prescribed or over-the-counter drugs per day, an illness or condition that made the senior change his or her diet, and having lost or gained more than 10 pounds in the past six months without trying.

Martha Brodie, community service representative of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving the High Desert, said that risks associated with conditions such as medication use and illness can negatively impact seniors' health and independence as they age.

"Good nutrition is, in fact, the first line of defense in helping to keep seniors healthy and independent," she said.

With her sneakers on her feet, Deich is almost always ready to get outdoors and enjoy a meal or relaxation on her patio and the small garden she lovingly tends. She and her neighborhood friends look out for one another, and she said she is happy with her current independence level. "You have to have 'get up and go' to get up and go," she said. But to make sure her level of 'get up and go' remained strong, her son wanted to make sure she was consistently getting something better than the TV dinners she enjoyed. "I don't know what I'd do without him," Deich said.

Experts advise stressed-out family caregivers to get organized by creating a shopping list so their seniors regularly have healthy ingredients, collect interesting recipes and ensure their senior has the companionship they need to make mealtimes enjoyable and provide help shopping for groceries if necessary.

Brodie added that companionship is one ingredient that family caregivers shouldn't leave out of a senior's meal plan. "So many seniors are alone or lonely. If you can't be there to shop for groceries or eat with loved ones, consider a congregate meal site — such as a senior center — or a companion to help encourage older adults to develop the kind of nutritional habits that will keep them healthy and give you peace of mind." Deich and her son decided an in-home caregiver would meet their needs and were paired with Olive Oddi. "She's a real sweetheart," Deich said of Oddi. Oddi said Deich's nutrition has improved and that she now eats a lot of salads. Deich said she also loves yogurt and often eats it for breakfast. For anyone who needs help for senior family members at mealtime, Home Instead Senior Care offers a free handbook to promote healthy grocery shopping and meal preparation tips and recipes for approximately 121,600 households in San Bernardino County caring for seniors. To obtain a copy, call 843-5655. A Web site, www.foodsforseniors.com, provides additional information and resources.

Please note: Always consult a doctor before beginning any diet or nutrition program.

The Boomer Project (www.boomerproject.com) completed online interviews with 1,279 U.S. adult caregivers, ages 35-62, with a parent, stepparent or older relative for whom they or someone in their household provides care. Questions regarding nutritional risk factors and stress adapted from Abbott Laboratories' "Determine Your Nutritional Health" checklist. Used with the permission of Abbott Laboratories, copyright 2008.